I thought I was doing ok...

[roseenglish]

I have been "meditating" for 12 months with various MP3s from other companies mostly with alpha waves and there is DEF an improvement in my anxiety issues and how much less a phobia I have bothers me ....but....

I don't DO anything when I listen. I just switch off and lose sense of time...it often feels like I am dreaming with abstract mental images that I can never recall afterwards, I am not asleep though as I always open my eyes as the track ends and that could be 40 minutes later and yet it feels like 5 or 10 minutes.

I feel the benefit both at the time and long term too so I am wondering if I should change things and actually focus on meditating exercises rather than just going with the flow

I am currently on lifeflow 9 (I have 8 but I havent started that yet)

Thanks in advance

[GilesC]

Sounds as though you're doing just fine... no need to change anything.
When you're in a meditative state, then time is irrelevant, so the fact you come out of the meditation feeling like it's only been 5 minutes rather than 40 just acts as an indicator you were in a good meditative state.

You've found improvement in your anxiety and phobia (have you also tried EFT for your phobia, it works wonders), and you are feeling the benefit long term and not just during the meditation. So why would you want to change that? That's exactly the sort of benefits I would expect to see from someone who's practicing meditation successfully.

Just move onto Lifeflow 8 when you feel ready, there's no rush.

Hugs

Giles

[roseenglish]

Originally Posted by GilesC

Sounds as though you're doing just fine... no need to change anything.
When you're in a meditative state, then time is irrelevant, so the fact you come out of the meditation feeling like it's only been 5 minutes rather than 40 just acts as an indicator you were in a good meditative state.

You've found improvement in your anxiety and phobia (have you also tried EFT for your phobia, it works wonders), and you are feeling the benefit long term and not just during the meditation. So why would you want to change that? That's exactly the sort of benefits I would expect to see from someone who's practicing meditation successfully.

Just move onto Lifeflow 8 when you feel ready, there's no rush.

Hugs

Giles

Wow...I guess I am lucky because many people say they get bored or restless were as that phase (if I have one) only lasts 3 - 5 minutes right at the start of the track.

I can literally feel the shift... the random abstract dream like images just kick in and I get an occasional limb twitch like you do just before you fall asleep.

99% of the time, I don't have to do anything the mp3 does it all for me by shifting me into alpha.

You cant force relaxation no more than you can force sleep...it happens when you let it happen...the more you try to fight and push it the more agitated you get.

I did once play around with tapping (Is that what you mean by EFT?) cant say I noticed a difference.

I have a fear of insomnia (strange I know especially as I have never truly suffered with it on a chronic level) but my Mum did and does and I must have picked up on her misery as a child.

At my worst I was a wreck...hated bed time..hated bed... but the good thing is bed time and sleep are something we HAVE to deal with every day so I think 2 years of exposure has helped.

When I have an episode I just tell myself i wont sleep that night and I have to absolutely believe that AND accept it.
Once I expect it and accept it I am no longer worried about it and so without the fear the sleep comes naturally.

I created a viscous circle of fearing no sleep and the fear keeping me awake and it spiraled so out of control I was a mess..

That was 3 yrs ago and during a stressful period of my life.

I still get set backs when I cannot be logical and rational about it but i tell myself this is as always transitional in time I will "get over it" and be able to look at the situation in a rational way.

Acceptance of worse case scenario seemed to be the key for me.

Thanks for your reply

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by roseenglish

I did once play around with tapping (Is that what you mean by EFT?) cant say I noticed a difference.

I have a fear of insomnia (strange I know especially as I have never truly suffered with it on a chronic level) but my Mum did and does and I must have picked up on her misery as a child.

At my worst I was a wreck...hated bed time..hated bed... but the good thing is bed time and sleep are something we HAVE to deal with every day so I think 2 years of exposure has helped.

When I have an episode I just tell myself i wont sleep that night and I have to absolutely believe that AND accept it.
Once I expect it and accept it I am no longer worried about it and so without the fear the sleep comes naturally.

I created a viscous circle of fearing no sleep and the fear keeping me awake and it spiraled so out of control I was a mess..

That was 3 yrs ago and during a stressful period of my life.

I still get set backs when I cannot be logical and rational about it but i tell myself this is as always transitional in time I will "get over it" and be able to look at the situation in a rational way.

Acceptance of worse case scenario seemed to be the key for me.

Yes, EFT is "tapping", though there are various different tapping techniques out there, so not sure which one you tried.

It can be hard to do it if it's something new to you and you're just doing it from reading instructions etc. rather than having a practitioner sat with you who can pick up on subtle things and guide you, though it is possible to learn it and do it yourself for some things.

Some important things about using EFT is to make sure you a) put your issue in your own words, b) consider how you feel about the issue in the present moment when you think/focus on it, rather than how you may have felt about it in the past and c) keep doing rounds of tapping and re-evaluating the score until you get it down to zero (so many people get it to a lesser feeling without getting rid of it completely, and then say "oh that's ok, I can live with that", but it's like chopping down a tree, if you only take the branches off, it can grow back again, but if you take it out at the roots, it aint coming back). With EFT, it works by evaluating what the root cause of the issue is and tapping on that, as best you can manage, but sometimes that can be tricky if you're not sure, or if there are several aspects to the issue (and each one will need treating seperately). Other techniques such as FreewayCER don't need to get to the root cause, they can work on a recent occurence of the issue, and multiple aspects get treated at the same time, so it can work more quickly, though you'll be less likely to find practitioners around (EFT had a bigger marketing around the world), and it doesn't really have freely available instructions on the internet like EFT (shame cos it's a brilliant technique).

I'm sure such technique would help with your phobia (they're great for phobias), so perhaps consider revisiting the technique and try again? If you need any advice on it I can help out here (if you're happy to post it in public )

Hugs

Giles

[Ramai]

by Swami Beyondananda - Famous Author of the Book MY KARMA RAN OVER MY DOGMA



1. Be a Fundamentalist--make sure the Fun always comes before the mental. Realize that life is a situation comedy that will never be canceled. A laugh track has been provided, and the reason why we are put in the material world is to get more material. Have a good laugh at least twice a day, and that will ensure regular hilarity.

2. Remember that each of us has been given a special gift, just for entering - so you are already a winner!

3. The most powerful tool on the planet today is Tell-A-Vision. That is where I tell a vision to you, and you tell a vision to me. That way, if we don't like the programming we're getting, we can simply change the channel.

4. Life is like photography. You use the negative to develop.

5. It is true. As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles tend to get caught between the ears, causing a condition called truth decay. So be sure to use mental floss twice a day. And when you're tempted to practice tantrum yoga, remember what we teach in Swami's Absurdiveness Training class: *Don't get even, get odd.*

6. If we want world peace, we must let go of our attachments and truly live like nomads. That's where I no mad at you, you no mad at me. That way, there'll surely be no madness on the planet. And peace begins with each of us. A little peace here, a little peace there, pretty soon all the peaces will fit together to make one big peace everywhere. YES!

7. I know great earth changes have been predicted for the future, so if you're looking to avoid earthquakes, my advice is simple. When you find a fault, just don't dwell on it.

8. There's no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world, and we'll never have to change it again.

9. If you're looking to find the key to the Universe, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is: there is no key to the Universe. The good news is: it has been left unlocked.

10. Finally, everything I have told you is channeled. That way, if you don't like it, it's not my fault. And remember, enlightenment is not a bureaucracy. So we don't have to go through channels.

11. There are two kinds of mystics in the world, the optimystics and the pessimystics. Although pessimystics seem to be more in touch with "reality," optimystics are happier and live longer.

12. It's the pessimystics who've been crying, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" The optimystics simply smile and say, "No. It only looks that way because we are ascending."

13. Of course, for those people who read the news -- not to mention those unfortunate enough to be in the news -- this has not been an easy year to offer an optimystic reframe to loads of pessimystic evidence.

14 There's an old saying, "It always seems darkest before it gets really dark," but we optimystics don't buy it. Call me a hopeless "hopium" addict, but I say it can't hurt to look on the bright side.

15. Sure, you can say we human beings have moved further down the path of self-destruction ... or you could say the earth is ridding itself of its most virulent parasite. You can deplore the increased war, disease and starvation, or you can go, "Hey, population control without birth control or abortion!" You can worry over America's turn toward totalitarianism or you can say, "Ah, simplicity! We've boiled the Bill of Rights down to just one: You have the right to remain silent."

16. Seriously, we do have a choice. One of my favorite stories recently is about a Native American grandfather talking to his young grandson. He tells the boy he has two wolves inside of him struggling with each other. The first is the wolf of peace, love and kindness. The other wolf is fear, greed and hatred. "Which wolf will win, grandfather?" asks the young boy. "Whichever one I feed," is the reply. Every day -- every moment -- we have the choice to feed the wolf of love or the wolf of fear.

17. If war is a necessary evil, that makes it all the more important to express peace as a necessary good. Whatever love, kindness, laughter, or generosity we create in our immediate vicinity radiates outward like a "perfect Ponzi scheme" where everyone wins and nobody loses.